Kenya Othaya Kamoini AA - Archived Review

$7.75

THIS COFFEE HAS SOLD OUT. The juicy cup of Kamoini offers plum fruits, pineapple, orange, and grape, and finishes with a hoppy/spiced flavor that recalls Belgian ales. City to Full CIty. Good Kenya espresso.

Out of Stock

Additional Info

Cultivar

SL-28, SL-34

Grade

AA

Appearance

.6 d/300gr, 17 - 19 screen

Processing Method

Wet Processed

Region

Nyeri County, Othaya Division

Arrival Date

June 2016 Arrival

Roast Recommendations

City to Full City; a juicy cup from light to dark

Organic

No

Farm Gate

Yes

Recommended for Espresso

Yes

Description

Kamoini is one of several coffees we picked up from Othaya Farmer's Cooperative Society (FCS), an FCS that includes an impressive amount of wet mills, 18 in all, dating back to the late 1950s. Kamoini Factory sits at 1825 meters above sea level, right along the Ichamama River, which is fed from the Karima forest above. "Factories" are essentially small washing stations aligned with a particular "society" in Kenya, what we would call a "cooperative". We return to the societies who seem to regularly produce some of the best Kenya coffees, and each year we come across societies that are new to us as well. Being one of the older Kenya FCS, we are well aware of the quality coming out of Othaya, and have had the good fortune to buy a few stellar lots the past two years. It was purchased direct, not through the Kenya auction system, so we could avoid the risk of losing it. To do this we pay a price that is higher than what the top auction bid might be, but it means we get the exact lot we want. AA refers to bean size, which in the case of Kenya, are the largest. Depending on your roast set up, this might mean a few extra seconds in the roaster when shooting for a City/C+ roast level, in order to ensure internal bean temperature has a chance to catch up to the exterior. For those looking for screaming Kenya acidity, this will deliver in the light to medium roast applications.

Unrefined sugar sweetness and citrus complexity are defining characteristics of this coffee (especially in the lighter roasts), from the rind-like aspects to the pulpy sweetness of fresh squeezed. The ground coffee exudes smell of ripe Naval orange, with a backdrop of dried tropical fruits, and cinnamon-caramel sweetness. The wet aroma shows more of the tropical hints, a mango syrup smell, and "POG" juice - a bottled pineapple, orange, guava juice mix. Our Full City roasts produced dark berry and burned sugar tones. This makes for a very juicy brewed cup, City roasts echoing the pineapple and orange juice flavors sensed in the aroma. The mouthfeel is also juicy, the weight of grape juice, and flavors fade to lemonade, grape gum, and accents of fresh hops and spice that reminds me of Belgian ale. Grape and chocolate notes seem to dominate Full City roasts, with shaved orange zest and bittersweet Dutch cocoa in the long aftertaste. Full City roasts produce a chocolatey Kenya espresso too, replete with the citruz 'zip' that you'd expect from the origin.